This investigative website can exclusively report that Dr Flavian Zeija the Deputy Chief Justice is very bitter with the decision of Criminal Division of the High Court Judge Emmanuel Baguma where he denied opposition strongman Dr Kizza Besigye the opportunity to address his concern in a fully packed Courtroom.
On Wednesday, Dr Besigye raised his hand to address his concerns to Court. However, Justice Baguma directed him to address his concerns to his lawyers led by Kenyan senior counsel Martha Karua who then will pass them on to him which Besigye and his lawyers protested insisting that the accused person has a right to address Court even though he has many of lawyers to represent him in a court matter.
However, Justice Baguma held his ground insisting that Besigye was not going to address him inside the fully packed courtroom. He direct him to put his concerns in writing so that he also addresses them in writing.
Even though Besigye protested the decision, he respected it and in his own hand writing tasked Justice Baguma to guide him and cite the law which stops him as an accused person from addressing Court
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As Justice Baguma prepares to respond to the four times presidential candidate, this website exclusively learnt that Justice Dr Zeija who is out of the country on official duties made a number of phone calls to authorities in the judiciary to guide on how to smoothly move out of the crisis noting that it is placing the entire judiciary in bad light
Highly placed sources in the judiciary told this website that before Justice Zaija traveled abroad on the official duties, he engaged Justice Baguma and guided him on how to handle the Besigye case so as to make sure that it doesn’t go out of his hands.
“The problem is Justice Baguma overly depends on his Court of Appeal friend who is always giving him poor guidance which is likely to affect his career as a judicial officer and as a person. The other problem also are the statements made by a judiciary top boss who always tell judges in seminars and workshops to stand with executive promising to defend them at all the cost without thinking about the future,” a senior judicial officer said
Besigye and his co-accused Al-Hajji Obed Lutale Kamulegeya insist that justice Baguma should recuse himself from their matter citing bias. The duo have also dragged him to Justice Douglaus Siginza’s Judicial Service Commission seeking for disciplinary action against the flamboyant judge.
Besigye, Lutale are jointly charged with UPDF Capt Denis Oola on the offences related to masterminding a plan of overthrowing president Museveni’s government and assassinating him plus poisoning top government officials.
However, the accused strongly deny these offences.
